Reflections
by artic strawbehry
Summary: Liz thinks back to 8th grade. Completed. Please R/R!!
1. Chapter 1

Liz was sitting in her room staring off into space. Her math homework was spread out around her, but she couldn't seem to concentrate. Her focus kept wandering back her middle school years. She hadn't thought about what had happened in so long that she really had no idea why she had been remembering all these memories all the sudden. She was a senior, so why was she stuck inside eighth grade?  
  
One thought reverberated throughout her mind. There was one set of events that changed her entire perspective. It started out like any other day. The same morning routine that she always followed was observed. Calling out to her parents, she ran out the door and on to school.  
  
When she reached the front door, she immediately scanned the crowd for her quirky, blonde, best friend. Finding her involved in a conversation with Alex, she found a secluded spot to sit and think. She sat looking at the faces of all the people in her school, watch them as they talked and laughed with friends. Her roaming eyes found her current crush, Patrick James. He was cute with his dirty blonde hair that cam down to his ears, those wonderful blue eyes you could get lost in, and his casual, but nonetheless cool clothes. He was very popular, everybody liked him and his easygoing, laid back attitude. It was no wonder that almost every girl in the grade liked him. Tearing her gaze away, she saw one of the quieter students like herself. His name was Max Evans and he wasn't too bad on the eyes himself. He was tall and had dark brown hair that matched his dark brown eyes. Most people just passed by him, ignoring the silent boy. Liz had only just realized he was in the class when they had been paired up as lab partners earlier this year. He was extremely smart; he just didn't like to speak up much. Apparently she had been staring at him for longer than intended because he turned and looked at her. Quickly ducking her head, she could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks. She allowed herself to look back in his direction, only to see him watching her intently. Luckily, the bell rang signaling the time to become lost in the world of studies once more.  
  
Liz walked the halls until she reached her locker, pausing there only to deposit books. Slamming it shut, she turned and almost ran in to Patrick. She was quite flustered and was muttering apologies, but he just laughed. "It's okay!" he replied smiling his gorgeous smile. Liz felt her knees weaken. After muttering another "sorry", she turned and walked away. She didn't get more than two steps when he called after her. "Hey, Liz!" She whirled around quickly to face him; caught by surprise he even knew her name. "Do you want to go out with me on Friday?" If she thought her knees had gone weak before, then they turned to mush at this.  
  
"Um, sure. Why not?" she replied, sounding much more confidant than she felt.  
  
"Great! I'll talk to you later. Bye," he said, then turned his back to her and walked away, down towards his first period class.  
  
Liz slumped against the lockers, unable to hold herself upright anymore. Gaining her composure took at least two minutes and by the time she was finally able to stand upright again, the second bell had rung. Oh crap! I'm gonna to be late to science! With that, she sprinted down the hall juggling her books all the way. Cursing the planners of the school for making everything so spread out, she grasped the handle of the door and yanked it open. All eyes in the room turned towards the door. Suddenly Liz felt very self-conscious. She dropped her gaze to the floor as she made her way to her seat beside Max. He looked at her for a minute, almost understanding, and then turned back to the lab the class had started. The teacher opened his mouth to say something to her, but then reconsidered. Liz seemed to calm down enough to seem normal to those who didn't know her well, but she still couldn't seem to keep a broad smile off her face.  
  
The bell ringing once more brought Liz out of her revere. It was finally time for lunch! Now she could tell Maria, Ann, and Alex the amazing news about Patrick. She made her way back through the hall to her locker, spun the combination lock to the correct numbers, and then forcefully yanked it open. She hurriedly dropped her books in, grabbed her lunch, and slammed it shut once more. Closing the door she came face to face with Ann. "Oh my god! You are not going to believe this Ann!" she practically yelled while grabbing her friend's hand and dragged her towards the patio for lunch.  
  
"Umm, well, it must be something big, because if I didn't know you better, I'd say you were giddy," replied Ann with an equally large smile on her face at seeing her friend so happy.  
  
"Shut up!" Liz cried indignantly. She playfully slapped her friend, and then promptly shrieked when Ann responded by tickling her side.  
  
"So," Ann asked getting back on topic, "Are you planning on filling me in on what's making you so incredibly happy?"  
  
"I will, patience is a virtue ya know. I just don't wanna have to explain this more than once because I don't really understand it myself…" she trailed off as they exited the building. There was none other than Patrick and Rebecca. They were flirting shamelessly in front of the entire school. Liz gasped. It took a minute for the initial shock to wear off, but once it did, Liz was almost in hysterics. Ann could not figure out what was going on. Fortunately Maria chose that exact same moment to walk to the door. When she saw Liz, who by this time was a wreck, she immediately ran over.  
  
"Oh my god! What happened? What's wrong, chica?"  
  
"He- asked- and then- flirting- Rebecca…" Maria couldn't understand most of what her best friend was saying, but she caught enough to know that Liz was majorly pissed off at Rebecca for something.  
  
"Come on, let's go sit down and then you can explain why you went ballistic on us, okay?" Ann said, attempting to calm down her panicked friend.  
  
"O-okay," Liz stammered, still gaining control. She should have known it was too good to be true, that he would never want to go out with a girl like her. She allowed her two closest friends to lead her to a table. She then noticed that a fair amount of people were staring at her. Oh great, just what I need. The whole school thinking I'm some kind of freak.  
  
"It's okay folks! Nothing to see here, just normal girls stuff!" Maria told the prying eyes. Once she was satisfied that people weren't centered on them, Maria turned back to Liz. "Okay, spill."  
  
"Can you find Alex please? I don't want to have to explain it more than once. To tell the truth, I'm not sure if I understand it enough for an explanation to make any sense." Actually, Liz didn't even want to talk about it at all. She just wanted to go home, take a hot shower, crawl under the covers, and sleep until everyone forgot about what had happened.  
  
"Sure," Ann replied for herself and Maria. "We'll find him and be back in no time."  
  
"Maybe I should stay here with Liz while you go find Alex," Maria said, worried what Liz might do if left alone.  
  
"No, you can go too Maria, I'll be fine," Liz replied, not wanting to be watched over. Maria opened her mouth to protest but Liz beat her to it. "Yes, I'm sure. Go. Now."  
  
"Okay, fine! I give up! We'll be back in five minutes," Maria relented.  
  
Once they were gone, she slumped down and closed her eyes. Placing her head in her arms on top of the table, she proceeded to go off into her own little world. A quiet voice brought her back to reality.  
  
"Liz? Are you alright?"  
  
She jerked up to see who it was that was addressing her. "Max! Hi! Umm, yea, I'm fine. What makes you think something is wrong?" she replied, maybe a little too fast.  
  
"Well, I just saw you come out the doors and then…" he trailed off, not wanting to embarrass her.  
  
"Oh, that," Liz said with a sigh.  
  
"I'll bet it has something to do with why you were late to science and were still smiling the whole time. Am I right?" Max asked with a knowing smile.  
  
"Yea," Liz responded less than enthusiastically.  
  
"Wanna talk about it?"  
  
"Um, not really." She was hesitant about discussing her dilemma at all.  
  
"Alright then. I'll talk to you later." This being said, he got up and walked away.  
  
"Max!" Liz cried. He stopped. "I lied. I do want to talk about it."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yea. But not here, let's so somewhere secluded. I don't want the whole school to know about my personal life," Liz said with a slight smile.  
  
"Alright then, let's go talk." With that, he took her arm and they headed off to talk. 


	2. Chapter 2

Author: Elizabeth  
  
Rating: I'm no good at these so I'm just gonna say PG for now  
  
Parings: Max/Liz eventually,  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned Roswell, do you really think I would be writing fanfic?  
  
A/N: Okay, this is based mostly on my life in eighth grade. Thanks to all the people of Mayberry Ghetto as well as "Sparky" for the idea for this fic. Also, if every is out of character, sorry, tough luck. I need them this way for the story to work. I know where this story is going, but it will probably take awhile to get there, so bare with me here people! Okay, now on to the story!  
  
  
  
Finding a bench, Max and Liz sat down. "So, are you going to tell me what made one of the calmest, most collected girls I know go into hysterics?" Max asked, the concern evident in his voice.  
  
"As you already know, I was late to science, but what you don't know is why. I literally ran into Patrick. And he asked me out on Friday night. Of course I said yes, what girl wouldn't?" At this last comment, Liz could have sworn she saw Max's face drop. Deciding to ignore it for the moment, she continued with her story. "It took a while for me to calm down enough to walk. That's why I was late."  
  
"So that's why you got upset when you saw Patrick and Rebecca flirting." He was now piecing the puzzle together.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"But you seem to be a lot more calm now."  
  
"Yea, I fell better now that I've talked about it. Thanks." The smile on her face was sincere.  
  
Max was enjoying every minute of this conversation with Liz. He had had a crush on her for at least two years and she was just now noticing him, even if just as a friend. He was about to reply when he heard Maria and Ann approaching.  
  
"Oh my god Liz! We couldn't find Alex, but when we came back you weren't there and when we left you were still borderline hysterical!" Maria was waving her arms all over the place and to tell the truth, Max wondered how the loud, attention-loving Maria and the quiet, shy Liz got along together so well. "Okay, spill chica. One, what are you doing with Max and two, why did you get up and leave, thus giving me a panic attack?"  
  
Liz just laughed. "Maria, I think you might need some cedar oil. I'm fine now. I talked to Max; he'll fill you in. I'm gonna go start my homework."  
  
That was another thing about Liz, she loved getting a head start in any class she could. That's probably why she was a straight "A" student and had been practically forever.  
  
As soon as Liz was gone from view, a very upset and irrational Maria turned to Max. "Okay. Liz said you'd explain, so explain." She sat down on an adjacent bench and started tapping her fingers impatiently. Max was very frightened of the petite blonde and her temper.  
  
Ann cleared her throat. "Maria, chill. Sniff some cedar oil. You're scaring the poor guy."  
  
Max thanked his lucky stars one of them was rational. "Umm. Where do you want me to start?"  
  
"At the beginning, that's always a good place to start," Maria snapped.  
  
"Okay. This morning Patrick asked Liz out and then-" Max was abruptly cut of by Maria.  
  
"Patrick? Patrick James asked Lizzie out?? Oh my god! Why didn't she tell me?"  
  
Ann shoved the cedar oil back under Maria's nose. "Breathe," she commanded. Maria took a beep breath. "Now, if you would let Max here get out more than on sentence at a time, maybe we could find out why she didn't tell us."  
  
Max shot Ann a grateful look before continuing. "As I was saying. By that time, both bells had rung so she was late to class-" Again he was cut off by Maria.  
  
"She was late to class? You have to be kidding me. She has never been late to a class before. Ever." Maria's shock was obvious.  
  
Ann on the other hand seemed to find it quite amusing. "Liz Parker was late to class. The world must be rotating backwards and hell froze over."  
  
Max had to laugh at that. He had now figured out that the glue between Maria and Liz was Ann. If not for her, Maria would probably have Liz in a mental institution. "Now, if you'll be so kind as to let me continue…" Getting nods from the two girls, he started again. "All through science she had this silly little grin. From the way everyone has reacted, I'm guessing that Patrick is, or was might be a better term, her crush." He paused long enough to make sure his assumption was correct, which, of course, it was. "When she and Ann came outside, Patrick was flirting with Rebecca. That's why Liz flipped out."  
  
Maria looked like she was about to explode. "He asked her out and was flirting with another girl later? Ugh! Men are such pigs!" Max gave her a semi-hurt look. "No offense."  
  
"None taken, unless you were including me in that statement," he replied with a smile.  
  
"Of course not! You and Alex are like, the only decent guys in the whole grade!" Maria said emphatically.  
  
"Good to know I'm thought of highly," Max joked.  
  
"Yea, you're one of the few guys that has feelings, the other are just heartless jerks," Ann added. "Speaking of heartless, there goes Rebecca," she said, her usually warm, soft voice going ice cold.  
  
"Oh good. I wanted to have a word with her," Maria said.  
  
"Oh! I'm coming to!" Ann replied.  
  
Max was glad Liz had friends like Maria and Ann to stand up for her when it was obvious she wasn't going to for herself. 'Oh crap. I really need to stop this kind of thinking. It could get me in trouble.' His was brought back to the schoolyard when he heard Maria yelling at Rebecca.  
  
"You little bitch! How dare you do that to Liz!"  
  
Ann wasn't being quite as rude, but just as direct. "What was the point in all that? To bring Liz down so you could feel better?"  
  
Rebecca was looking rather confused. "What are you talking about? What did I do?"  
  
"What, wait, you don't know about Patrick and Liz?" Ann asked softly.  
  
"What about them?" Rebecca asked impatiently.  
  
"He asked her out this morning," Ann said gently.  
  
"WHAT?!" Rebecca was *not* happy. Actually, that would be an understatement. She was completely irate. "What are you talking about? Liz and PATRICK?? No way! I don't believe it. You're just making it up."  
  
"You wish! You're just mad because you couldn't get to him first," Maria retorted.  
  
Max shook his head and went off to find Liz. Entering the building, he saw Patrick and some of his friends. He walked over to them and with confidence he didn't know he possessed asked to talk to Patrick alone. "What were you doing flirting with Rebecca?"  
  
"Exactly what it looked like I was doing. Flirting," he replied, looking at Max like he had grown another head. "Why do you care?"  
  
"I thought you asked Liz Parker out this morning," Max said, trying to prevent himself from losing control.  
  
"Yea, so? Does that mean I can't flirt with another girl?" Patrick asked incredulously.  
  
"If you want to be considered a 'good boyfriend', yes, it does mean no flirting with other girls," Max retorted, quickly loosing what little control he had left.  
  
"You like her don't you? You like Little Lizzie Parker, the virgin Mary." Seeing Max stiffen, he kept going. "Max Evans and Liz Parker, has a nice ring to it. Why do you like her so much anyways? You got a thing for the innocent ones? You know what Max. She doesn't want you. She wants me. I know it. You know it."  
  
Max lost it. With all the anger he had built up inside of him, he punched Patrick square in the nose.  
  
"Dammit, Max! I think you broke my nose!" Patrick cried out.  
  
"Remember that next time you decide to break a girl's heart," Max responded. Then he took off running down the hall before anyone could see him with Patrick. Rounding a corner, he ran straight into Liz. The force sent the both backwards and onto the floor.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Liz! Are you okay?"  
  
Taking a deep breath and trying to think about the fact that Max was still laying on to p of her, Liz responded. "Oh, um, yea, I'm fine."  
  
"That's good," Max said in all sincerity.  
  
"Um, Max, you do realize we're laying in to hallway still right?" Liz asked, not wanting to embarrass him, but wanting to get out from under him nonetheless.  
  
The usually shy Max turned three shades of crimson while removing himself from on top of her. "Sorry about that," he said quietly, unable to look her in the eye.  
  
Just as quietly she replied, "Don't be."  
  
He looked up. She was staring at him intently. "What, do I have food on my face or something?"  
  
She laughed, "Wow, Max Evans made a joke! This is certainly a side of you I hope to see more often."  
  
"When I'm around you, I can't help but be like this," he replied.  
  
It was her turn to blush this time. "Wow, this got awkward fast."  
  
"I was hoping you wouldn't notice, I figured if I was the only one feeling it, I could ignore it. I can leave if you want..." He was about to get up when he felt a hand on his arm.  
  
"Stay. Please?" she asked almost timidly.  
  
"Okay," he replied. Almost as if he was in a trance, he started leaning towards her.  
  
A/N: That's all for now. I know, I'm evil. Lemme guess, you all hate cliffhangers. I do too but it's about 12:30 in the morning and I want to go to bed, but I know I won't be able to turn off my mind unless I post this. I'll post the 3rd chapter once I have 15 reviews so review!! Let me know what you thought! Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and keep my toes warm. 


	3. Chapter 3

Author: Elizabeth  
  
Pairing: Max/Liz… duh, who else?  
  
A/N: I'm supposed to be writing a Greek Tragedy for English class that's due tomorrow, but I'm so totally stuck. So I decided to write more of this since everyone seems to like it. I probably won't be able to post another chapter until Friday or so, it depends on if my teachers decide to be nice or not. Also, I just got the Roswell Soundtrack. It is terrific! I recommend it to everyone! Okay, I'm done with the ramble now here's the fic!  
  
  
  
'Oh. My. God. He's going to kiss me!' Liz's mind was going a hundred miles an hour. Max was about to kiss her. She closed her eyes and leaned forward also. They were only millimeters apart when they heard the bell's shrill ring. They both jumped back, embarrassed to be caught in such a situation.  
  
Max recovered first. "We should probably go to English," he said standing up.  
  
"Yea, we probably should," Liz agreed, finding the floor surprisingly fascinating.  
  
Max reached down to help her up. When they're hands touched, it was like electricity shot through both of them. They quickly dropped hands.  
  
"Umm, I'll meet you in English I guess," Liz said, looking at anything but the face of the boy in front of her.  
  
"Yea, I'll save you a seat," Max replied, also not able to look at Liz directly.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Each walked away quickly to get the books and such they would need for English.  
  
Entering English, Liz noticed that Patrick had an icepack on his nose and was glaring at Max. 'Wonder what happened. I'll have to ask Max.' Speaking of Max, Liz plopped down beside him. "Thanks for the seat. Um, why is Patrick giving you the death glare?"  
  
Max looked back and indeed Patrick was giving him a look that could kill. "Oh, um, I kinda, punchedhimintheface," he said.  
  
"You did what?!" Liz asked, astonished. "Why?"  
  
"Umm, well, he was insulting you and I kinda lost my temper," Max said, finding his literature book very interesting.  
  
Liz was about to reply when the teacher, Mrs. Mealer, starts the class.  
  
"Okay, we'll be continuing our discussion about Antigone today. (A/N: This is what we're studying right now. I couldn't not put this in) Okay, we left off yesterday on Scene 3 Ode 3. Liz, will you read the first section, and Max, will you read the second."  
  
Liz blushed profusely as did Max. "Love, unconquerable/ Waster of rich men/ Of warm lights and all-night vigil/ In the soft face of a girl:/ Sea- wanderer, forest-visitor!/ Even the pure Immortals cannot escape you,/ And immortal man, in his one day's dusk,/ Trembles before your glory." Liz was red as a beet by the time she had finished reading. 'Oh my god. Of course I would have to read this of all the lines, I would have to read this. It makes perfect sense to put me through this torture,' she ranted in her mind. She snuck a quick look at Max, who she noticed, was blushing just as furiously. 'Well, at least I'm not the only one who's getting embarrassed here.' Just then, Max started reading.  
  
"Surely you swerve upon ruin/ The man's consenting heart,/ As here you have made bright anger/ Strike between father and son-/ And none has conquered but love!/ A girl's glance working the will of Heaven:/ Pleasure to her alone mocks us,/ Merciless Aphrodite." Max was sure he was even redder than when he excused himself from on top of Liz.  
  
After class, Liz asked the question that had been on her mind. "Max, why did you punch Patrick? I've never known you to do anything violent."  
  
"Before today you never really noticed me at all," he replied, so softly Liz barely heard him. He pushed past her, trying to escape the situation.  
  
Liz placed a restraining hand on his arm. "Max. You know that's not true."  
  
"But it is! Before today, we've never even had a real conversation!"  
  
"That's true, but it doesn't mean I've never noticed you before. I saw you that day in third grade. You got off the bus with Isabel. I was playing with Maria. I saw you. You were watching me, Max. You have been ever since that day. I can feel your eyes following my every move."  
  
Max was shocked. She knew.  
  
A/N: This is hopefully just enough to hold you over until I have time to write more. I'll TRY to add another chapter to "Willows and Confessions" by Wednesday. No guarantees though. Also, let me know what you thought! I love hearing what you have to say about my work! 


	4. Chapter 4

Author: Elizabeth  
  
Parings: Should be obvious by now…  
  
A/N: I was working on my other fic and got major writers block. Since I already had an idea for this one, I decided to go ahead and work on it. I give you fair warning, in my opinion, this part sucks, but then again, I don't think any of it is that great….  
  
Max was shocked. She knew. How could she know? He mind was racing and he was having a hard time keeping up. "Oh," was all he said. He couldn't manage anymore.  
  
"That's all you have to say about that? 'Oh'? God, Max! You really know how to make a girl feel special." With that, she stormed out of the room.  
  
'Great. Now I pissed her off. Smooth Max.' He spent the rest of the day formulating a plan to make her forgive him.  
  
After school, Liz was walking home when she heard Max yell her name. She just kept walking. "Liz! Wait! Please! I have to talk to you."  
  
For reasons unknown, she stopped. While she was waiting for him to catch up, she suddenly thought of a song. It just randomly popped into her head. The scary thing was, it fit so well with what she was feeling.  
  
"Liz, I'm so sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?" Max asked, rather out of breath due to running halfway down the street.  
  
"I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to lose, clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose, once there was a darkness, deep and endless night, you gave me, everything you had, oh you gave me light," she sang quietly.  
  
Max stopped talking. He stopped walking. He just looked at her. "Is that why you freaked out after English? You're afraid I'll turn out to be like Patrick? Is that right?"  
  
Liz looked down. "Yea. I guess. I don't know! It's just so confusing!" Another song popped into her head, this time it was Carolyn Dawn Johnson's "Complicated". "So complicated, so frustrating, I wanna hold you close, I wanna push you away, I wanna make you go, I wanna make you stay," she sang, louder this time.  
  
Max was amazed. He had learned more about her in this one day than he learned in five years of watching her.  
  
  
  
A/N: I know, I have a strange mind, but I keep thinking of all these songs that fit so well! We're singing "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLaughlan in the coordinate choir at my school and every time we sing this part I think of Max and Liz. 


	5. Chapter 5

Author: Elizabeth  
  
Parings: M/L  
  
A/N: Here is my attempt at continuing this. I'm not sure if this will be any good at all, but I'm gonna write some anyways.  
  
The silence became unbearable between the two quickly. Liz was fidgeting and Max was looking around. Suddenly Liz broke the silence. "I have to go. I was supposed to be home fifteen minutes ago."  
  
"Oh. All right. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Liz."  
  
Hightailing it out of there, Liz pondered if it had been smart on her part to let Max know that much. Deciding there was nothing she could do about it, she shoved those thoughts out of her mind. Reaching the door of the Crashdown, Liz attempted to catch her breath and calm down. Opening the door, she was greeted by the orderly chaos of the diner. Heading to the back to change, she was aware of a pair of eyes on her back. She brushed it off as jitters and continued. Once in the back, she slung her backpack onto the couch and jerked open her locker. Grabbing her uniform, she slammed it shut. 'I probably shouldn't take out my frustrations on the locker should I,' she thought. Changing rapidly, she grabbed her order pad and headed out to serve the groups of school kids who congregated there after school.  
  
After taking the necessary orders, she sat back on a stool. She took advantage of this short break to glance around the fairly diner. In the booth by the window were the jocks from West Roswell High and they're peppy cheerleading girlfriends. Across from them were the middle school jocks and they're equally annoying, peppy cheerleading girlfriends. Her friends occupied some of the other booths. In one was Gabby and her most recent boyfriend Austin, and Summer and her boyfriend Juney. Midge and Tom, and Alexandra and Jason sat behind them. At a table nearby sat Lindsey, Leila, Marie Katrine, Ann, Maria, Emilie, and Jennie. Hearing the 'order up' bell, Liz headed back to the kitchen window. As she was carrying the food to it's respective tables, she heard a new song on the radio. 'Why are there so many damn songs that fit my damn emotions?' Liz wondered after listening to the lyrics. She didn't have time to continue that train of thought because a large group of teens walked in. She went on auto pilot and stared taking orders without a second thought.  
  
The crowd of high schoolers lasted straight through until the dinner crowd filled the diner. One of the usual waitresses called in sick so Liz had to work an extra shift. By the time they had shooed the last people out and closed up, it was after eleven. Liz was about to collapse and she still hadn't done her homework. 'Looks like I'm gonna have to pull an all- nighter to finish my homework, write my paper, and finish my Latin project. I so do not want to do this. Maybe I can just go to bed and get my mom to write me an excuse as to why I don't have my homework.' Knowing that would never work, Liz quickly formulated a plan for the long night. First on her list was to take a shower so she didn't smell like hamburgers all night. She turned the water on fairly hot and closed the door to trap the heat. Stepping under the streams of water, she felt some of the tension rinse away. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, mentally preparing for the lengthy night.  
  
Shutting off the water, Liz became aware of another person in the next room. She could hear the person walking around. The steps were too light for those of her father, and too heavy for those of her mother. Pondering whom it could be, Liz dried herself off and rapidly put on my pajama pants and a t-shirt. She opened the door to her bathroom slowly, cautiously. She let out a sigh when she saw that the person in her room was Max. "Max, what are you doing here at," she checked her clock, "12:15 in the morning?"  
  
"I needed to talk to you," he simply stated.  
  
'Oh god. How does he do that? There's no way I can be mad at him for wanting to talk to me, granted he could, and should have waited until tomorrow, but seeing as how it is 12:15 it technically is tomorrow, but he should have waited for a decent hour. How did he even know I was still awake? For all he knew, I was sound asleep. Another thing, how the hell did he get up here in the first place? He couldn't have come in the front way and the only other way to get up is the ladder on the side of the rooftop but that hasn't worked since before I was born and I need to stop rambling. Okay Liz, breathe. Calm down and ask a rational question.  
  
Max had been watching Liz's face and had a few ideas to the internal struggle going on inside her head. He just hoped she wasn't mad.  
  
"Why now, Max?"  
  
He looked at her puzzled. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Why now at 12 something in the morning? How did you even know I was awake? No wait, I have an even better question. How the hell did you get up here?" she asked in a whispered yell.  
  
"I already answered the first question. About the second, I didn't. I took a chance. And the third, you don't want to know," he replied with a slight smile on his face.  
  
Liz felt some of her frustration melt away when he smiled his half smile. 'God! He is not making this easy is he?' "Fine. You're here and you wanted to talk so talk."  
  
A/N: Hehehe. I'm gonna wait awhile before I let you in on the secret workings of the mind of 14-year-old Max Evans. I need at least 10 more reviews before I'm going to post a new chapter. Flames will be used to keep my room warm, but constructive criticism is preferred. If you're going to criticize someone, at least point out what they could be doing better and give them ideas in a *positive* manner. It's the least you can do. Now I am done with my ramble… 


	6. Chapter 6

Author: Elizabeth  
  
Parings: if you haven't figured it out in the first 5 chapters, then you probably haven't read them…  
  
A/N: I'm rather pisssed off at some of my friends; reasons and names will be left unsaid. ::cough:: *Caroline's story* ::cough:: lucky for you people, I'm more inclined to write when I'm pissed off. Enjoy and review! Far warning lizzy, it's really sappy…  
  
  
  
"You just seemed kinda preoccupied earlier and I wanted to see if anything was wrong."  
  
"That's it. That's why you snuck into my room at 12:15 in the frickin morning?! Dammit Max! You almost gave me a heart attack to ask if I was okay??" Liz was losing her composure and knew it. "God, Max! Why do you have to do this? You do something and I know I should get mad, but I can't stay mad. No matter what I do, I can't stay mad at you, Max," she sobbed.  
  
Max was watching her from across the room. When he saw her break down, he was instantly at her side. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry.  
  
Liz was faintly aware that Max was holding her in his arms. It was a good thing too; his arms were the only things keeping her from crumpling to the floor. A little voice in the back of her head was telling her to kick him out, but she ignored it. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked the feel of his arms around her, comporting her, making her feel safe.  
  
Max started mumbling nonsense words of comfort to the sobbing girl in his arms. A voice I the back of his head told him to leave, get out of there, but he ignored it. He was relishing in having his dream girl in his arms, allowing him to comfort her.  
  
"Fascinating new thing  
  
You delight me, and I know you're speaking of me  
  
Fascinating new thing  
  
Get beside me; I want you to love me  
  
I'm surprised that you've never been told before  
  
That you're lovely  
  
And you're perfect  
  
And that somebody wants you  
  
Fascinating new thing  
  
The scene makin', want a temporary savior  
  
Fascinating new thing  
  
Don't betray them by becoming familiar  
  
I'm surprised that you've never been told before  
  
That you're lovely  
  
And you're perfect  
  
And that somebody wants you  
  
I'm surprised that you've never been told before  
  
That you're priceless  
  
Yeah, you're precious  
  
Even when you are not new  
  
I'm surprised that you've never been told before  
  
That you're lovely  
  
And you're perfect  
  
And that somebody wants you  
  
I'm surprised that you've never been told before  
  
That you're priceless  
  
Yeah, you're holy  
  
Even when you are not new"  
  
-Semisonic "FNT"  
  
  
  
A/N: Kinda short I know, but I have writers block. Big time. I'll write lots more during spring break, but don't worry, I'll write at least one more chapter before I leave to the world of mo internet. If you want me to continue this story, I need some more ideas. Thanks to CrazyDreamerChick for the idea, I'll probably incorporate that into the next chapter. 


	7. Chapter 7

Author: Elizabeth  
  
Pairing: is it even necessary to do this every time? I think you would know by now…  
  
A/N: Thanks to CrazyDreamerChick and CoffeeObsessed for your ideas. I'm going to combine them for this and hope it works out well….  
  
It took a while for Liz to compose herself again. "Max, I'm sorry I broke down like that. I usually don't do that, hardly ever actually," she apologized.  
  
"It's fine, Liz. I don't mind, really. Now, do you mind telling me what's wrong?"  
  
"I'm just really tired and I have to do all this homework and I don't get my math and I just can't do it all..."  
  
"Do you want some help?" Max asked tentatively.  
  
"I couldn't, I mean, it's going to take me all night and we both shouldn't have to stay up-" Liz reasoned.  
  
"But I want to help, and with me helping you, it won't take nearly as long," Max countered.  
  
"Okay, fine, you win. You can stay and help, but I'm sending you home in two hours or when I finish, whichever comes first."  
  
"Fine. Now, let's start with the math," Max said. Liz agreed. They worked for about thirty minutes and were almost done when Max noticed Liz spacing out. "Liz? Hey Liz?"  
  
Liz turned towards Max as she was brought out of her reverie. "Hey, sorry, I kinda spaced didn't I?"  
  
"Just a little bit," Max laughed. "What were you thinking about?"  
  
"Eight grade," Liz replied, needing not to explain more.  
  
"Ah." Max knew exactly what she was thinking about. "So, do you want some help on your math homework?"  
  
"Please."  
  
"Alright then, let's get started."  
  
  
  
THE END  
  
A/N: There ya go folks. It's short I know, but I finished. Finally. Tell me how you liked it- I need feedback people!! 


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